Determinants of General Chemistry Success of Engineering Students in PLTL and Traditional Classroom: State Anxiety and Test Anxiety

Ece N Eren-Sisman,Ceyhan Cigdemoglu,Ömer Geban,E Masal,I Önder,S Beşoluk,H Çalişkan

doi:10.1051/shsconf/20184801051

Ece N Eren-Sisman, Ceyhan Cigdemoglu + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20184801051

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Abstract

The purpose is to find out whether state and test anxiety can predict general chemistry grade in peer-led team learning group (PLTL) and non-PLTL groups and to explore their predictability of the grade after controlling the influence of trait anxiety. The sample consisted of a total 128 freshman engineering students attending general chemistry in a private university. STAI and RTT instruments and exams were used to generate data which were analyzed by using standard and hierarchical multiple regression. The findings revealed that in both groups the combination of predictors is significantly related to general chemistry grade, having the strongest unique contribution of test anxiety; however, it was only statistically significant for PLTL group. After controlling the effect of trait anxiety, test anxiety still makes a unique significant contribution for PLTL group. Accordingly, test anxiety can be used to predict the general chemistry grade of PLTL students.

Highlights

1.1 Anxiety experiencesAnxiety as an element of the affective domain of learning is a significant factor since they can influence students’ understanding of science [1]
Anxiety is classified as trait anxiety and state anxiety by Spielberger et al [2], who define the state anxiety as an interpretation of a stressful situation at a particular time while trait anxiety was defined as a permanent personality characteristic or a general feeling of anxiety
Test anxiety refers to the experience of the high level of anxiety elicited by testing in academic settings [3]

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Anxiety experiencesAnxiety as an element of the affective domain of learning is a significant factor since they can influence students’ understanding of science [1]. Test anxiety refers to the experience of the high level of anxiety elicited by testing in academic settings [3]. They stressed that it is an important issue that can associate with the academic performance of college students. In PLTL model, lectures are first introduced by the course instructors and these lectures are supplemented with weekly PLTL workshops in which a successful undergraduate student (peer leader) guides a group of 6–8 students for one or two hours per week to solve problems developed by the course instructor [4]. Unlike a teacher in the traditional sense of lecturing or a teaching assistant in demonstrating how to solve the problem, “peer leader” is a facilitator or guide who earned at least a B in the same course in the previous years

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